


Thrice-Blessed

by Guardian_Rose



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 2 + 1, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 09:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19460899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_Rose/pseuds/Guardian_Rose
Summary: “Crowley, my dear. I really must get going now,” Aziraphale says, shuffling on the sofa he’s sitting on.Crowley is currently settled in his lap, heavy and soaking up the angel’s warmth. He doesn’t move. “Take me with you,” he rasps.“Crowley I cannot take a snake with me to do a blessing. They’ll get all flighty when they see you and if I don’t do this blessing I’ll get another note.” Aziraphale says all this in his ‘I mean it this time, you wily demon’ voice but also continues to stroke down Crowley’s scales.“Not moving, angel.”***From an anon prompt on tumblr





	Thrice-Blessed

**Author's Note:**

> From this anon prompt: 'Ahh, thank you kindly for your reply. =) Truly, I appreciate the reassurance. It is only that as mentioned, there a couple scenes I would dearly love to see. I found myself wondering -- when Crowley volunteers to take Aziraphale's job in Edinburgh -- how Crowley would go about blessing someone, and how it would work? (Crowley being mistaken for a priest would be doubly funny!) But I also wonder how Aziraphale might go about blessing someone? May I ask for a fic on this, please? Thank you!'
> 
> Thank you so much for the prompt! Hope you enjoy this!

**1 - Edinburgh**

“Toss you for Edinburgh.”

“Fine. Heads.”

The coin turns in the air and for a millisecond Crowley considers cheating, he doesn’t particularly mind Edinburgh after all and he knows Aziraphale is having a swell time lately hanging around Shakespeare. The journey up there is by far the hardest part of the job. He claps the coin down onto his hand and uncovers it so Aziraphale can see too.

“Heads. Looks like I’m off to Scotland.”

Aziraphale’s smile is worth it.

***

He stays for the end of the play, whispering into Aziraphale’s ear quippy comments about the performance. It doesn’t escape his notice that Shakespeare has edged closer to them again and is squibbling down on his parchment. He makes a point to make Aziraphale laugh in the gloomy parts of the play, earning dangerous looks from Burbage on stage. If Shakespeare overhears his jokes he is more than welcome to use them, the comedic plays are always better than the tragedies, in his opinion.

When it’s over, Aziraphale has to be dragged out of the Globe because he keeps making himself look like an idiot as he compliments Burbage and Shakespeare profusely. He’s getting funny looks from the spattering of other play watchers. Crowley also hasn’t eaten lunch and could do with something filling. Alcoholic too, just to take the edge off the annoyance at having to ride a horse all the way up north. It’s another half hour before they leave in the end. Turns out he still can’t help indulging the angel.

He gets the rundown on what Heaven wants Aziraphale to do and then they spend the rest of their meal arguing over the finer points of having so many soliloquies in a play and what counts as appropriate audience participation. Crowley steadfastly argues against shouting ‘buck up’ at the actors.

***

He gets to Scotland and makes a mental reminder to find a carriage or  _ something _ to go home in because there’s no way in Heaven or Hell that he’s taking the trip again by horse.

***

Of course Aziraphale’s blessing has to do with rewarding a long-time church-goer for their faith which means the only time he knows they’ll be about it is when they’re leaving church on a Sunday morning. So he loiters and lurks outside the church until the session is over. He gets his fair share of funny looks, what with the tinted glasses, but encourages them to forget they’d seen anything easily enough. It takes a while but eventually the doors open again and he perks up from the bench he’d been lounging on and strides across the square to sift the intended woman out from the crowd. It’s a minor shock when he sees the child in her arms. A little girl. She looks deathly pale.

“Madam Stuart?” He asks when he’s in range, standing confidently and trying to exude the sense that she can trust him. He’s also trying to smile at the kid who just blearily looks through him. 

“Miss Stuart, Sir. Are you a priest? I heard a new priest was coming in from out of town.” 

Crowley looks down at his dark clothes. Then back up at her. Then down again, then at the woman’s eyes, trying to figure out if his ‘sense of trust’ has actually made him appear all holy and proper to her. She doesn’t wither under his gaze or do anything more than adjust the child in her arms. He shrugs internally; it makes things easier. And gives him something to bitch about to Aziraphale later.

“Sure. That’s me. The travelling priest... Would you follow me please?”

It’s really a testament to humanity’s stupidly trustful nature that Miss Stuart just nods and follows Crowley through the streets to loop round to a small grassy area, a couple trees. Almost a park. Empty, perfect for a quick blessing and minor miracle. Only. The minor miracle, Aziraphale had told him, was due for Miss Stuart which didn’t make sense when she wasn’t the one who was ill. Why reveal his wings to her to reinforce her faith in this difficult time when he could just heal the kid? Surely  _ that _ was both more Good and more practical. It’s like Heaven wants the kid to die and for her to return to her faith during...during the grief…

Crowley stops under a tree and spins to face the woman who looks a little startled at their sudden stop. She squints up at him, trusting. So trusting. What was with humans and trusting people they don’t know just on their word? So foolish. He runs a hand through his hair and holds a hand out. She hesitates before taking it. She’s cold. Not surprising. Calloused fingers. She works then.

“Miss Stuart, I am on a mission to help you in this difficult time. Will you accept my blessing of good will?” He goes through the rote message, he could do it from afar but he likes to give them the option to refuse. 

Something falls in disappointment in her eyes but she nods. 

He digs into his power and uses part of his focus to try and mimic the soft, chilly feel of Aziraphale’s divinity when invoking the ‘blessing’. She’ll have some good luck for the rest of the year. But she isn’t technically blessed. He can’t actually do that. But the results are the same. Mostly.

“I- Pardon me for asking, Sir, but could you also give your blessing to my daughter? She is ill, you see, and they say there is no cure,” her voice trails away and Crowley can’t help the pang of anger in his chest. 

Kids. What is it with Heaven and not caring about kids?

“Of course, can I hold her hand?” 

The kid blinks up at him, a little spark of awareness resurfacing as he holds her small fingers in his. She’s feverish. Skin clammy and it makes Crowley feel sick himself. That Aziraphale was meant to be the one doing this. That, if the coin flip had gone a different way, he’d have sent Aziraphale to do this. And for all Aziraphale is sweet and compassionate and as in love with humanity as Crowley is, he knows deep down that Aziraphale wouldn’t have done what he’s about to. He wouldn’t have enjoyed leaving this child to die, but he’d have still done it. Faith in Heaven’s orders ranking higher than his personal moral qualms. 

Crowley shakes his head and squeezes the girl’s hand comfortingly. He isn’t going to leave her behind to this fate. 

***

**2 - London**

“Crowley, my dear. I really must get going now,” Aziraphale says, shuffling on the sofa he’s sitting on. 

Crowley is currently settled in his lap, heavy and soaking up the angel’s warmth. He doesn’t move. “Take me with you,” he rasps. 

“Crowley I cannot take a snake with me to do a blessing. They’ll get all flighty when they see you and if I don’t do this blessing I’ll get another note.” Aziraphale says all this in his ‘I mean it this time, you wily demon’ voice but also continues to stroke down Crowley’s scales. 

“Not moving, angel.”

They pause at this stand-off. Neither of them willing to budge until eventually Aziraphale huffs. He gathers Crowley up in his hands and drapes him, ignoring his hissed protests, onto his shoulders. Crowley readjusts, looping round to stop from sliding off and drops his head next to the angel’s neck. He flicks his tongue out to tickle Aziraphale.

“Who we blessing?” He asks as they leave the bookshop.

Aziraphale is gaining a fair few strange looks but they’ve only just started talking again after the holy water argument and Crowley isn’t willing to let go. It’s new now. Just ever so slightly different. That moment in the car had confirmed things for both of them and now they were readjusting, making the best of it as they can. It’s scary and thrilling and very freeing. 

“Just a quick in and out one at the homeless shelter. Teenager needs some unconditional love and faith and all that.” 

The weather’s not too bad, for London, but it’s chilly enough that Crowley goes through the complicated motions of burrowing under Aziraphale’s coat, popping his head out where he’d been before just this time under a layer of warmth. Lovely.

“You gonna talk to ‘em or just wave your fingers through the window?”

“Dream this time, I think.”

“If they’re not already asleep I’ll tempt them to a nap for you.” 

Aziraphale’s smile is obvious in the way his walk bounces a little. Crowley holds on a bit tighter. “Oh, thank you, my dear. That’s very sweet of you.”

“Eh, don’t shout it.”

“I do wonder how many people like them are out there, you know. So many people I could be helping...”

“Help too many and you’ll get reprimanded,” Crowley reminds him as they turn a corner. 

Aziraphale sighs. “I know but it just doesn’t seem fair. I’m allowed to reaffirm her faith and all but I could do so much more. She hates her body, Crowley, and I could change that! I could give her the body she wants but--”

“But you’d be in trouble. So would she. You know how humans are, they’d poke and prod her instead of leaving her alone to live her life. You don’t want to give her that.”

Another sigh. Crowley tickles his neck again, less in an attempt to make him laugh this time and more to try and comfort. “I’m sorry, angel.”

***

**3 - Earth, Somewhere**

It’s early days in their...acquaintanceship and they’re wandering around a desert. Just because they were both going the same way, towards a town where they’ve been assigned some odds and ends jobs. A couple blessings. A couple temptations. It’s still new and they’re feeling things out. Slowly. Carefully. 

They’re having a small debate over nothing really when Crowley pauses, wrinkling his nose. Aziraphale stops a step later and turns to face him, already asking what’s wrong but Crowley’s focused on the strange feeling building up. He waves away Aziraphale’s lifted hand that had been reaching for his arm and takes a step back. 

Then he sneezes.

Aziraphale cracks up laughing at Crowley’s expression but still gets out a quiet ‘bless you’ because he does have some manners still. Crowley’s terrified expression, morphing from his disgusted confusion, is more than enough to instantly sober Aziraphale up. 

“What did you just say?” Crowley asks, eyes darting across Aziraphale and looking for all the world like he expects himself to spontaneously combust. “Angel, did you just? Really?”

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry! It’s not a real blessing, I promise.” Crowley’s terror eases a little with the reassurances but he’s still shifting his weight around. “My dear, I promise. I haven’t actually blessed you. You’re okay. It’s just a polite phrase.”

“Stupid phrase more like. What if you’d actually meant it? Who invented that, seriously.” Crowley shakes his head but starts walking again. “What were you saying about grapes, angel?”

And they continued on. Blissfully unaware of the tiny aura of luck that was following after Crowley like a shadow.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> No beta, all mistakes my own
> 
> Prompts welcome here and on my writing tumblr [WordToTheRose ](https://wordtotherose.tumblr.com/) or come say hi on my main [Guardian-Rose-Petal](https://guardian-rose-petal.tumblr.com/)


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